Balancing Personal, Professional, and Academic Commitments: Challenges Experienced by Online Doctoral Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 104
  In Roundtable Session: Qualitative Studies of Doctoral Students’ Experiences

Abstract

The decision to earn a degree at a distance while maintaining family and work commitments is accompanied by several challenges for professional practice doctoral students. This interpretive phenomenological study reports on the experiences of twelve professional practice students during the first year of an online doctoral program as they attempted to manage professional, academic, and personal commitments. Insight into the challenges faced by online doctoral students, their identification of priorities and strategies for continued success can help educators design and provide improved support to online students in doctoral and graduate education.

Authors

• Meredith Coughlin, University of Florida

• Heidi Fernandez, University of Florida

• Allison Johnson, University of Florida

• Johanna K. Kenney, University of Florida

• Swapna Kumar, University of Florida

• Florence Wolfe Sharp, University of Florida

• Tasha Wells, University of Florida